Official website predicts that the Timberwolves eliminate the Warriors 4-2! Huazi Curry stages a superstar duel and pursues dreams and PK Gobert

On May 5, the Warriors defeated the Rockets in tiebreak and advanced to the Western Conference semi-finals, and will face the Timberwolves. The NBA official website has made a foresight and prediction of this round of series. They are more optimistic about the Timberwolves and predict that the Timberwolves will eventually eliminate the Warriors 4-2. The moment that belongs to Edwards is here. Over the past 12 months, Edwards has eliminated Durant, Jokic, James and Doncic in the playoffs. Will he also include Curry on the list of "defeated opponents"?

Edwards seems to be chasing the path to becoming a league superstar, and he proves himself with practical actions that he has the ability to become a signature figure in the NBA. He is at the golden age and critical stage of his career and is expected to achieve a major breakthrough. It has to be said that he is not afraid of any important moments or stages, nor is he afraid of the opportunity to become a legendary hero. Instead, he readily accepted the challenge.

Let's wait and see. The Warriors will face serious challenges, as other teams have encountered in trying to stop Edwards. Draymond Green, the Warriors' best defensive player, was not enough to limit Edwards in speed. This requires Jimmy Butler to stand up, and Butler is naturally no ordinary person. He may be one of the few players in the league who can make Edwards struggle with every goal scored.

Edwards shines with the light of the single-core superstars in the past, such as Nowitzki in 2011, or Wade in 2006. However, his path to basketball is still long, and Curry won't give in easily - if he really will give in.

Points worth paying attention to

Possible conflict between Draymond Green and Rudy Gobert. Judging from most of the first round of the playoffs, the NBA obviously has a relatively relaxed penalty for physical confrontation. Now the real test is here - to what extent will the league "turn a blind eye" when Draymond Green and Rudy Gobert face off the court.

As we all know, the relationship between them is not very good. There is a historical origin. The most notorious scene happened two years ago in November, when Draymond Green grabbed Gobert and used a throat locking action on him. This behavior has banned Draymond Green for five games, and may even cost him the opportunity to be selected for the 2024 US national team.

Strangely, there is no clear reason for why they hate each other. There is a saying that Draymond Green is jealous of Gobert's four-time selection of the year's defense, and he has won only once himself, and that Draymond has ridiculed Gobert's number of awards in the past.

The two defensive masters have one thing in common - except for Gobert's outstanding offensive performance in Game 5 of the first round, they usually have little presence on the offensive end. So, in fact, there is no need for them to defend each other.

The points worth paying attention to between the two sides

Warriors: Kumingga's preoccupied fate will either end there or continue. He played only three games in the first round, as head coach Cole was dissatisfied and turned to a three-back lineup composed of Curry, Hilder and Pojemsky.

However, in this round of the series, the Warriors may need Kuminga's height and athleticism, because the Timberwolves have some advantages in this regard. In this case, will Kumingjia be unfamiliar or full of fighting spirit?

Timberwolves: Can Randle continue this performance? The "haze" that has plagued Randall in the past playoffs may have been wiped out by him. While in the Knicks, he either couldn't play due to injury or struggled after playing. In the game against the Lakers, he averaged 22.6 points per game, shot 48% from the field, and also performed well on the defensive end. He has been pretty good with the Timberwolves so far, although a great performance in the round does not fully prove that he has achieved self-salvation.

So, maybe it is not possible to draw conclusions too early. To convince those who are skeptical, even his new teammates, Randall needs to continue his good form against the Warriors. This could help him get a generous contract extension this summer.

Key data

40.0 - In the first round, the Timberwolves scored 40 points higher than the Lakers in the fourth quarter. They took the lead in the fourth quarter of all five games, and even in Game 4 they finished the reversal and won with a 10-point break in the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter of these five games, Naz Reed made 6 of 6 three-pointers, but other Timberwolves players made only 10 of 41 shots from outside the three-point line in these 60 minutes. Despite this, the Timberwolves' offensive data are still excellent, and their defense is even more amazing. They allowed the Lakers to score only 81 points per 100 leg in the fourth quarter.

The Timberwolves also performed the best in the fourth quarter in the regular season (greater score +9.2 per 100 rounds), but in three games against the Warriors, both of their lost games were reversed in the fourth quarter. The Warriors are the sixth best team in the fourth quarter in the first round (greater score per 100 rounds +17.0).

Series schedule

G1 (9:30 on May 7): Warriors vs Timberwolves (Timberwolves home court)

G2 (8:30 on May 9): Warriors vs Timberwolves (Timberwolves home court)

G3 (8:30 on May 11): Timberwolves vs Warriors (Warriors home court)

G4 (10:00 on May 13): Timberwolves vs Warriors (Warriors home court) )

G5 (May 15): Warriors vs Timberwolves (Timberwolves home), if necessary

G6 (May 19): Timberwolves vs Warriors (Warriors home), if necessary

G7 (May 21 8:30): Warriors vs Timberwolves (Timberwolves home), if necessary

prediction result

Timberwolves advanced 4-2. When the playoffs are at this stage, there is usually a rule: Teams with the best players tend to win. In this case, it is difficult to argue that Edwards is the better one, even if he is going to compete with Curry. There is another trend: the teams in the hottest state will win. Similarly, the Timberwolves have an advantage in this regard. Both teams have eliminated higher-ranked seeds to advance here, but the Timberwolves' performance looks even more impressive. With their defense, depth of the roster and Edwards’ outstanding performance, they look to have enough motivation to make it to the Western Conference Finals again.